Quick question:
I've noticed on two of my female ghost shrimp there is a green mass right under the exoskeleton of the cephalothorax and just right above the stomach. One of the female's had an egg clutch hatch about 1.5 weeks ago and the other looks to be really close to breeding size.
Is this mass developing eggs? I haven't been able to get a good look with my magnifying glass. But once I got a close look for just a fraction of a second and the mass appears to be lots of very tiny eggs, but I could have been imagining it.
Any ideas?
Thanks, Brandon.
Interesting green mass....
Moderator: Mustafa
I've observed the eggs when they are mature and ready to hatch on one of the females a couple weeks ago, and indeed they turn clear and have 2 eye spots. But this green mass is not even on the outside of their bodies yet. I mean to say that if they are indeed eggs, she hasn't even moved them to the under side of her swimmerettes yet. They appear to be still maturing inside her body and are not ready for the outside world yet.
Correct. These are eggs still in her ovaries. (Assuming a shrimp's ovaries are called ovaries.)Brandon wrote: I mean to say that if they are indeed eggs, she hasn't even moved them to the under side of her swimmerettes yet. They appear to be still maturing inside her body and are not ready for the outside world yet.
Ahhhh, indeed! 
That's excellent news to me. I'm sure that most everyone here looks at ghost shrimp with a low brow and a high nose, but I think they're absolutely fun. They're easy to obtain, cheap, easy to maintain, and as I'm discovering they are also easy to breed.
Once I've mastered breeding ghost shrimp on a level that I feel comfortable with, I'll move on to other species, like the ones sold here by Mustafa.
Oh by the way Bradimus, I've read several of your posts deep within the archives. You seem very well informed and quite knowledgable. I'm sure that Mustafa appreciates the extra help answering all of our newbie questions
. I sure do! Thanks a lot
-Brandon.
That's excellent news to me. I'm sure that most everyone here looks at ghost shrimp with a low brow and a high nose, but I think they're absolutely fun. They're easy to obtain, cheap, easy to maintain, and as I'm discovering they are also easy to breed.Once I've mastered breeding ghost shrimp on a level that I feel comfortable with, I'll move on to other species, like the ones sold here by Mustafa.
Oh by the way Bradimus, I've read several of your posts deep within the archives. You seem very well informed and quite knowledgable. I'm sure that Mustafa appreciates the extra help answering all of our newbie questions
. I sure do! Thanks a lot -Brandon.
Hi Brandon,
Trust me, I appreciate Brad's help *a lot* and it definitely does not go unnoticed.
. This forum needs people like Brad, because I can't, for the life of me, answer all of the questions all by myself. The volume of questions would be just too large. Up to now I have been managing the volume fine, but when there are 100s or thousands of members in this forum I will need all the help I can get. 
Plus..there are always the archives that can be searched to avoid unnecessary questions that have been answered before.
Take care,
Mustafa
Trust me, I appreciate Brad's help *a lot* and it definitely does not go unnoticed.
. This forum needs people like Brad, because I can't, for the life of me, answer all of the questions all by myself. The volume of questions would be just too large. Up to now I have been managing the volume fine, but when there are 100s or thousands of members in this forum I will need all the help I can get. Plus..there are always the archives that can be searched to avoid unnecessary questions that have been answered before.
Take care,
Mustafa
I love ghost shrimp. I find them quite commical.Brandon wrote:I'm sure that most everyone here looks at ghost shrimp with a low brow and a high nose, but I think they're absolutely fun.
Much of what I know comes from reading Mustafa's pages. I am quite greatful for all his work. The rest is due to some academic contacts. I know I spent all that time in school for a reason.Oh by the way Bradimus, I've read several of your posts deep within the archives. You seem very well informed and quite knowledgable. I'm sure that Mustafa appreciates the extra help answering all of our newbie questions
Ghost shrimp are absolutely fascinating creatures and people would pay several dollars a shrimp in other countries if they could get their hands on these guys. I don't think anyone in the US export Palaemonetes species.
Brandon, breeding ghost shrimp is actually more difficult than breeding most algae eating shrimp since ghost shrimp actually have free floating larvae (although they don't remain larvae for all that long).
Take care,
Mustafa
Brandon, breeding ghost shrimp is actually more difficult than breeding most algae eating shrimp since ghost shrimp actually have free floating larvae (although they don't remain larvae for all that long).
Take care,
Mustafa
Well I thought I was the only one on this board that gets excited about ghost shrimp. I'm glad I'm not!
So ghost shrimp are harder than some other species to breed eh? Well I'm glad I'm starting off on more than a beginner's level then. And I'm also glad that my shrimp are feeling well enough in their home to mate. The last batch of ghost shrimp I bought already had a female with eggs. Now she's readying some more and another female has mated also. That's great.
Thanks Mustafa for making such a great site for enthusiasts like us to share these joys!
-Brandon.
So ghost shrimp are harder than some other species to breed eh? Well I'm glad I'm starting off on more than a beginner's level then. And I'm also glad that my shrimp are feeling well enough in their home to mate. The last batch of ghost shrimp I bought already had a female with eggs. Now she's readying some more and another female has mated also. That's great.
Thanks Mustafa for making such a great site for enthusiasts like us to share these joys!
-Brandon.
I'd like to know the set up of your ghost shrimp tank--gravel? filtration? lots of planted plants/floating plants? Bare tank? Etc. We've only managed to hatch and raise one lonely ghost shrimp to adulthood but we're buying more in the next few weeks and hope to eventually have more success breeding them.
My ghosts are in two tanks. Both are heavily planted.
The tank that has had some success in breeding ghosts is planted mostly with Crypts and so-called "Christmas" moss. The substrate is Flourite, but it is covered in older, decaying leaves from the Crypts. Since I used to use this tank as a grow-out tank for fish fry (there are no fish in it anymore), I routinely added rotifers to the tank. There is an established population of them in the debris and moss. I am sure that this is what fed the ghost larvae. Filtration is lowly sponge filter.
The tank that has had some success in breeding ghosts is planted mostly with Crypts and so-called "Christmas" moss. The substrate is Flourite, but it is covered in older, decaying leaves from the Crypts. Since I used to use this tank as a grow-out tank for fish fry (there are no fish in it anymore), I routinely added rotifers to the tank. There is an established population of them in the debris and moss. I am sure that this is what fed the ghost larvae. Filtration is lowly sponge filter.
My tank has a substrate of crushed coral and is heavily planted with anacharis and hornwort (sorry don't know the scientific names yet). I keep the temperature around 78-80F. The Ph stays pretty high due to the crushed coral, around 8 to 8.3 which is ideal for my apple snails but I guess the shrimp don't mind it either. I feed daily as my snails eat a lot and there are a lot of shrimp in there. I feed the above mentioned greens and also some home made sinking dry food that I made for my snails, but the shrimp absolutely LOVE IT! And a little goes a looooong way for them.
I also use a sponge filter. I think there is nothing lowly about sponge filters. I had originally used an external power filter, but after watching the antics of my other ghost shrimp in my swordtail fry tank (which uses only a sponge filter) I took the powerfilter out and switched to the sponge. The ghost shrimp seem much happier now with the sponge filter as they don't have to fight the water current and therefore don't spend all day locked onto the plants like they used to. Now they swim around freely and are very fun to watch.
Since shrimp don't add nearly anything to a tank's bio-load, a very small sponge filter could be used. I have to use a large one designed for twice the volume of the tank because the snails are very very messy and produce a lot of waste.
In my limited experience I'd say the most important factors for a shrimp tank are plants, especially floating ones, and maybe the substrate, but really the substrate isn't that big of a deal. Oh and by the way, ghost shrimp seem to LOVE java moss!
I also use a sponge filter. I think there is nothing lowly about sponge filters. I had originally used an external power filter, but after watching the antics of my other ghost shrimp in my swordtail fry tank (which uses only a sponge filter) I took the powerfilter out and switched to the sponge. The ghost shrimp seem much happier now with the sponge filter as they don't have to fight the water current and therefore don't spend all day locked onto the plants like they used to. Now they swim around freely and are very fun to watch.
Since shrimp don't add nearly anything to a tank's bio-load, a very small sponge filter could be used. I have to use a large one designed for twice the volume of the tank because the snails are very very messy and produce a lot of waste.
In my limited experience I'd say the most important factors for a shrimp tank are plants, especially floating ones, and maybe the substrate, but really the substrate isn't that big of a deal. Oh and by the way, ghost shrimp seem to LOVE java moss!